


Life and Magic

by LordAxxington, LutraGem, rhymenoceros



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Multi, Original Character(s), POV Original Character, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 01:50:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5690008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordAxxington/pseuds/LordAxxington, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LutraGem/pseuds/LutraGem, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhymenoceros/pseuds/rhymenoceros
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Amrita's travelling companions had been absent the night Corypheus made his move at the Conclave?</p><p>An Everybody-Lives AU for <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3712204/chapters/8217799">Blood and Magic</a>, with assorted scenarios from different OC's perspectives. Not necessarily chronological, chapters contributed by different authors. Divergent point during Chapter 11, with Virrevas arriving a couple of days later and everyone apart from Amrita going down to kill his master.</p><p>Best to treat this fic as being on hiatus/not happening - I created it so that we could upload snippets if we ever felt like it, but all of us are rather swamped with work/university/other projects. Sorry!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life and Magic

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter by LutraGem to establish the context of the Everybody-Lives AU. Amrita Trevelyan's POV.

Virrevas did not arrive until the Divine's procession into the Temple of Sacred Ashes was well under way. Amrita, the kossith and the Lavellans were watching the goings on when the slave announced himself with a polite cough behind them. "Lady Trevelyan?"

The group turned swiftly, and greeted him with joyous exclamations in both Elven and Common. He was ushered to their little camp, and a space was made for him while they interrogated him: how had his journey been? Why was he so much later than the mercenaries and mages, when they made port at the same time? What supplies had he been given? He answered the questions patiently and ate the food they gave him. The Divine had long-since vanished further into the temple, and the steadily-streaming entourage was not very entertaining.

After dinner, the questions turned to the matter of his collar.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Amrita.”

“Are you _absolutely_ certain?”

“ _Yes,_ Amrita.”

“Because you know ―”

“Amrita,” Faolán interrupted, “Virrevas knows. We all know. You have told us what could happen three times now.”

She scowled at Faolán. “I am a _healer_ , Faolán. It is my _job_ to keep people healthy. Cutting out a drug that one has imbibed for thirteen years is no small matter.”

“Actually,” Ishek observed idly, sharpening the blade at the end of his favoured staff, “your job right now is to represent the Ostwick Circle, not heal people.”

“Precisely,” Faolán agreed. “He knows, Amrita. Just leave him be in the morning.”

Amrita slumped and sighed, fidgeting with the collar she had, with some difficulty, removed. “Very well,” she finally acquiesced. “I suppose if you do go into withdrawal, we have the magebane here anyway.”

“Indeed.” Ishek pushed himself up, and Amrita noticed him sharing a meaningful nod with the others. “You’ve eaten, right?”

Frowning, Amrita replied, “You know we did. We had food when Virrevas arrived, since he had not eaten since breakfast.”

“Just checking,” the older kossith said as he walked over to her, staff in hand.

Her eyes widened as the tip lifted to tap her on the head. “What are you ―”

She blacked out.

~~~

When Amrita came to, it was dark and quiet in the hall. The doors had been shut, and only the sound of a great many people breathing and snoring filled the room. She groggily fumbled around and found that she had been put to bed on her sleeping mat. She pushed herself upright and surveyed the immediate area.

No kossith. No other elves.

She was alone.

The thought sent panic spiking through her like that stupid statue’s hat, and it was all she could do not to hyperventilate. _Be sensible, Amrita. They would not leave, not when Virrevas's whole purpose for being here is to spy for ―_

_Oh._

It took a while for Amrita to fall asleep after that.

~~~

Suddenly she was awake.

She had no idea what time it was; only that it was dim in the hall, and that almost everyone else was on their own adventures in the Fade.

Hers had been cut short by the compassion spirits forcing her awake, panicked that something awful was happening in her world. Or theirs. Or between. They had not been clear. But something awful was happening.

And she was the only one who knew.

So she had to do something.

 _Maker preserve me,_ she prayed as she pushed herself upright and started putting on what little armour she had.

Once ready as she would ever be, she swallowed, and then summoned a wisp from across the Veil. “Please,” she said, “find a way for a solid mortal to get safely to whatever is distressing my spirit friends.” She knew it was a complicated request for such a simple spirit, but she was confident that it was possible.

The little cloud of pale light hovered over her hands for a few seconds, and then started drifting further into the Temple.

Amrita looked at her camp, tightened the grip on her staff, and then set off after it.

It was slow going, as she did not have the luxury of gliding over sleeping delegates and had to take stairs rather than leaping straight up the side of a mezzanine. At least the wisp had not passed through a wall yet.

It took her up to the back of the main hall, and then up a grand set of stairs to the floor where the most important delegates were staying.

At the entrance to the accommodation shefound the first dead guards.

Amrita made a strangled noise, and forced the bile in her throat to settle. They could not hang about, as the wisp had drifted through the door the men had previously guarded. She stepped forward and tugged at the handle, but the door was locked. _Presumably so none of the commoners can get in,_ she observed. She stared at it for a few moments, thinking, and then cast a spell to freeze the lock. Cold mist emerged from the keyhole, and she struck the lock with her staff. Something snapped. The door swung open.

Sheset off again, taking the left path after the wisp.

Every guard in the corridor was dead. Some isolated ones had slit throats. Most had a worrying colour around their blue lips, suggesting poison. No sounds apart from snoring came from the rooms they passed.

“Should I go back and tell someone?” Amrita asked herself. The voices in her head screeched at her, and so she hurriedly said, “No, I suppose not.”

They reached the stairwell up to the next floor with no further incident. Another spell and broken lock later, she was trekking up a tall flight of stairs.

About halfway up she heard a faint scream.

She started moving faster.

When she finally reached the next level, she found bodies liberally littering the floor. This was presumably the floor where the Divine and the Grand Clerics had been staying. She stopped, breathing hard and listening for any noise as the wisp wavered back and forth. Then it drifted to the right, towards yet another set of steps. She followed it wearily, struggling not to be sick.

Shrieks echoed down the curving passageway. Amrita’s teeth were set on edge, feeling the tang of powerful magic in the air.

At the top of the stairs there was a great wooden door. On the other side of it was whatever had been panicking the spirits. She paused, trying to form a plan of action. _Ordinarily I would try to avoid drawing attention to myself, but that's hardly possible with this door..._

“Someone help me!” came a desperate plea from the other side of the wood.

Amrita’s mouth went dry and her mind went blank.

She cast a barrier and pushed. “What is going on?” she demanded in her most authoritative voice as she strode forward.

As she saw the scene before her, words fled her.

The Divine was suspended mid-air. A black, fleshy, monstrous _thing_ stood in front of her, holding a glowing orb that gave off a sickly green light – Fade green. Grey Wardens were scattered around the room, some maintaining whatever spell was holding the Divine. Everyone was looking at her.

"Run while you can! Warn them!" the Divine cried.

The monster gained its wits at that. "We have an intruder," it announced, turning to the Grey Wardens. "Kill her. Now!"

And in his moment of distraction, the Divine swung herself round and knocked the orb from the monster’s hand.

It clanked as it hit the stone floor, and suddenly Amrita knew it was of utmost importance that the monster not get hold of it. She sidestepped so she could grab it, able to see its glow even through the smokescreen.

Amrita picked up the orb.

She screamed as pain consumed her, worse than anything she had ever felt. The voices in her head joined in her howl of agony.

There was a noise like the fabric of the universe was being rent apart and the orb flashed green.

Then everything went white, and she knew no more.

**Author's Note:**

> Ffion Lavellan belongs to Eva  
> Faolán Lavellan belongs to Arthur  
> Ishek Adaar was co-created by me and Eva just for the fic  
> Katari was created by Eva just for the fic  
> Virrevas belongs to Ax


End file.
